Bruce Banner's condition was far worse than Nick Fury had expected.
The doctor in a white coat glanced at the report in his hand, then at the wildly fluctuating ECG on the monitor beside him.
He looked up at Nick Fury and said,
"His body shows no signs of injury, but our tests found that his brain waves are extremely erratic, as if he were having a nightmare."
"A nightmare?" Nick Fury felt like his head was about to split.
How could he be having a nightmare?
Among the original Avengers, Hulk had been one of their strongest fighters.
But now Bruce Banner was unconscious and trapped in a nightmare.
It was enough to make Nick Fury's head ache.
Besides, he'd been preparing to send Coulson and some other agents, along with the Avengers' one or two members, to find the Tesseract.
But Hulk had been beaten into this state by that mutant.
It left Nick Fury feeling thoroughly unsettled.
Black Widow stood beside Nick Fury. She glanced at his furrowed brow, raised an eyebrow, and asked,
"What? When you sent him with me to find that mutant, you never considered this might happen?"
"No." Nick Fury shook his head. "I did."
"But in my view, that mutant wasn't as dangerous as Hulk."
As he spoke, Nick Fury flipped through the materials compiled by the analysts.
The S.H.I.E.L.D. analysts had put together the report based on footage of Captain Locke's armed squad fighting the mutant.
"Clearly, your estimate was wrong," Black Widow Natasha said bluntly.
"It was." Nick Fury nodded.
"Looks like if we want Bruce Banner to wake up, we'll have to find that mutant."
He closed the file, a trace of hatred hidden deep in his eyes.
In his younger days, Nick Fury had fought in several battles.
He'd seen all kinds of mutants.
The power they unleashed when they lost control was astonishing.
His best friend had died at the hands of a mutant who'd lost control.
That was why these mutants with terrifying abilities had to be kept in check.
"We'll have to send in the Avengers..." Nick Fury murmured.
"We really have to control these people. Otherwise, who knows what America will become."
The black flames of Amaterasu consumed Alick and Jeremy's bodies, burning them to ash.
Lynn's figure gradually vanished into the night sky.
If someone wanted him dead, then striking first and taking them out was only fair, right?
Besides, that Black woman had already fallen under his genjutsu.
By now, she might have turned the person behind it all into a sieve.
Still, just to be safe, Lynn decided to go there himself.
At the thought, the muscles in his legs contracted sharply. He pushed off the concrete with tremendous force.
The pavement cracked like a spiderweb, splitting in every direction.
Lynn's body blurred into a streak as he surged forward.
Beneath the night sky, his figure flashed through the air again and again.
Geppo, one of the Six Powers.
With Lynn's current physique and stamina, he could cross the entire planet given enough time.
Now, he was using Geppo to race toward the direction the Black woman had gone.
Below, shrill sirens blared.
Countless people fled in panic, while countless police officers rushed toward the government building with guns in hand.
Clearly, Wolverine Logan and Hans had already begun their operation.
Lynn pushed off again, clearing a towering building ahead. Soon, he arrived in Hell's Kitchen, New York.
"Just as I thought." A knowing look crossed Lynn's face.
There was no need to think twice. If you wanted to find assassins and mutant killers in New York, Hell's Kitchen—the city's hub of crime—was the place.
It was only eight small blocks, but the wickedness here could put eight Mr. Satans to shame.
Soon, Lynn landed in an alley on 39th Street.
When he emerged from the alley, he had already changed his appearance.
A bald man with a scar across his face, a fierce look, and muscles bulging all over.
That was what Lynn looked like now.
Hell's Kitchen was especially chaotic at night, and a fine drizzle had begun to fall.
Lynn raised his head and looked ahead.
The drizzle fell softly from the night sky, cloaking the city in a hazy veil.
Neon lights flashed along the street ahead. Traffic flowed steadily, and headlights cast glowing patches across the wet road.
Several men wore ill-intentioned smiles as they stood along the street, watching passersby like predators.
Lynn headed toward the Black woman, whose location he could sense.
Thanks to the Genjutsu Seed, he could extend his perception beyond its normal limits.
In other words, that Genjutsu Seed was like the only light source in the dark.
All Lynn had to do was head toward it.
Just then, a burly Black man in a hood walked toward Lynn, his right hand reaching into his pocket for something.
A cold glint flickered in Lynn's eyes. His pair of scarlet Mangekyō Sharingan appeared.
The Black man froze, then turned and walked into the alley Lynn had just left.
A few gunshots rang out.
Hearing them, Lynn kept his hands in his pockets and walked down the street without looking back.
Raindrops hit him, but his exceptionally active cells shook them off.
At the 80% Perfect Realm, Lynn had mastered control over his body.
The only thing he still lacked was strength of mind.
His mind had grown incredibly resilient thanks to the Mangekyō Sharingan and Observation Haki.
But even that wasn't enough.
After all, Lynn was always on guard against Professor X, that old schemer, invading his mind.
He didn't think he could withstand Professor X's psychic invasion without reaching Magnetic Field Rotation.
So once he dealt with things here, he'd have to figure out how to train his willpower.
In a cramped, dimly lit room,
The Black woman sat in a chair, restrained by several men.
"She's being controlled."
A pale, scrawny young White man spoke.
He was Subject 03, the mutant sent by the Black Skull.
He possessed not only psychic abilities but also Telekinesis.
However, compared with his older brother, Subject 01, his Telekinesis was much weaker.
"Then kill her."
A bearded, sunglass-wearing brute pressed a pistol to the Black woman's head.
Bang!
The bullet struck the Black woman in the head, spraying crimson blood.
"Next, I'll try to invade his mind. If all goes well, we should be able to capture him."
Subject 03 spoke to Will.
They were the team the Black Skull had sent to capture Lynn.
Compared with Captain Locke's squad, they had fewer members.
But their equipment and personnel were better suited to the job.
Subject 03 held out both hands, preparing to invade Lynn's mind.
If he succeeded, he'd be able to control Lynn directly.
He'd already used this technique to control countless mutants.
Apart from psychic mutants, hardly any mutants could resist it.
Seeing Subject 03 make his move, Will smiled confidently.
Cavan and Locke had been slaughtered despite bringing heavy weapons. They were complete and utter failures.
He'd brought Subject 03 with him to deal with a mutant who had no psychic abilities. What could possibly go wrong?
But just as he was savoring the thought,
Subject 03's pale face suddenly turned deathly white, and his expression filled with horror.
"W-what is this place?!"
Before you continue